"The Earth Observer: Understanding Our Planet from 400 Miles
Up" will be the theme for two free public lectures, one on
Thursday, April 16 at 7 p.m. in JPL's von Karman Auditorium, the
other on Friday, April 17 at 7 p.m. in The Forum at Pasadena City
College. Seating is limited and will be on a first-come, first-
served basis.

The lectures will be presented by Marguerite Syvertson,
outreach coordinator for the Earth Science Flight Experiments
Program and the Earth and Space Sciences Division. She has been
involved as an engineer, scientist and outreach specialist in the
development of the Earth Observing System (EOS).

Over the next decade, NASA is preparing to launch a suite of
missions that will greatly aid in a more comprehensive
understanding of Earth and its processes. The Earth Observing
System AM-1 satellite, scheduled for launch this summer, is the
first of these missions and will provide unprecedented amounts of
data about Earth's surface, oceans and atmosphere that will allow
scientists to study and eventually model changes in Earth's
environment and climate.

EOS AM-1 will carry two instruments onboard: the Multi-Angle
Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) and the Advanced Spaceborne
Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), which is
provided by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry
with scientific support provided by JPL. These instruments will
monitor Earth's biosphere, volcanoes, oceans and clouds.

Two more spacecraft, one carrying the Atmospheric Infrared
Sounder (AIRS), which will study weather and climate, and the
other carrying the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and the
Tropospheric Emission Specrometer (TES), will study atmospheric
composition and will be launched in 2000 and 2002 respectively.

This lecture is part of the von Karman Lecture Series
sponsored monthly by the JPL Media Relations Office. A web site
on the lecture series is located at
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/lecture. For directions and other
information, call the Media Relations Office at (818) 354-5011.